The deadline for the 2015 Writing Excuses Retreat Scholarships is fast approaching. You can see the application details for the Carl Brandon Society Scholarship as well as the Out of Excuses Scholarship here. The application period for both scholarships ends at midnight (EST) March 14, 2015. Here is what each scholarship includes: Full tuition, a bed in a double-occupancy room, and up to $500 of travel expense to and from our departure port in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.http://www.writingexcuses.com/2014/12/22/the-2015-writing-excuses-retreat-scholarships/

In this week's Writing Excuses episode, Q&A on Character, we answer topical questions from our attendees at the 2014 Out of Excuses Workshop:

– How do you have a character grow in power and/or expertise without needing to ridiculously overpower the villains?– How do you give a flawed character a growth arc without changing what originally made that character likable?– When you have a 1st person POV, how do you convey the emotional complexity of the non-POV characters– How do you create an interesting an engaging story with a main character who is not the protagonist or hero of the story?– Is there an easy way to tell when the plot is driving the character instead of the other way around?– How do you write a character with egregiously offensive views without you, as the author, appearing to espouse or condone those views?– How do you write a character who has a belief that is different from your own?– What are some tips for writing a sympathetic antagonist?http://www.writingexcuses.com/2015/02/22/writing-excuses-10-8-qa-on-character/

Tor.com is continuing their reread posts</a> for Words of Radiance. Last week, Carl Engle-Laird went on a small rant regarding the International Phonetic Alphabet and danced with beautiful con-women. This week, in Chapter 29, Alice Arneson gets in the unwholesome mind of our of favorite sleazeball, Sadeas.http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/words-of-radiance-reread-chapter-29

Not at some point. As soon as possible. Wax is on my top five favorite characters list, next to Bartimaeus and Martim Cauthon. There's still two spots to be filled on that list; I'm open to suggestions on series to read to fill the last two spots.﻿

Tor.com is continuing their reread posts for Words of Radiance. Last week Alice Arneson had a large quantity of family feels at the Davar estate. This week, in Chapter 28, Carl Engle-Laird deals with boots, ships, beautiful conwomen, men on horseback and torn bodices! Wait, no, not that. He also goes on a small rant involving the International Phonetic Alphabet.http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/02/words-of-radiance-reread-chapter-28

Greetings from Taiwan! I will be attending the Taipei International Book Exhibition (TIBE) this week. I'll have more information on my exhibition schedule later this week. Watch this space for details. For those who want to attend, here's address:

Tor.com continues reread posts on <i>The Way of Kings</i>. Last week Carl commiserated with Adolin's discovery of the shallowness of his friends, balanced by the depth of his bond with his lovely Ryshadium, Sureblood. This week, in Chapter 27, Alice Arneson returns to Shallan's past in the pleasant, homey estate of the Davar family in Jah Keved.http://www.tor.com/features/series/words-of-radiance-reread-on-torcom

Kierstin Scharnitzke: "Megan's eyes could have drilled holes through butter."Andrew Means: "Like a washing machine at a gun show."Holden R Johnson</a>: "They looked so dangerous, like alligators. Really fast alligators wearing black. Ninja alligators."Tim Bunker: "An off balance washing machine filed with a hundred epileptic monkeys."Robert Fowler: "The bed as large as a really, really big piece of toast."Chase Wheatley: "I feel like a brick made of porridge."Midobal: "That's an answer in the same way that ketchup can be hair gel."Lisa Roush: "Like a catapult that shoots enormous grapes."Hanna Mae: "I'll be quiet as a buttered snail sneaking through a Frenchman's kitchen."Roy: "The sensation felt like an unbalanced washing machine with a hundred epileptic chimpanzees."

The next contest we did via Facebook was the easiest; all people had to do was share a link the events page on my website and say what event they were going to or wished they could go to.

For those who were not aware, I ran some contests through Facebook and Twitter a few weeks ago. Winners receive a set of Epic stand-up die-cut cards, and all are collected below! One contest was for people to tweet their favorite of David's bad metaphors from Steelheart and Firefight.

I found one of the cards! I was browsing at a local bookstore debating whether to pick up Firefight or The Rithmatist as the next addition to my collection when I realized one of the copies of Firefight was autographed and had one of the cards in it. Sorry Rithmatist, maybe next time.﻿

When Firefight came out last month I didn't have a stop in the Chicago area, but I'll be there tonight at Anderson's in Naperville, before recording some Writing Excuses episodes in the next few days and doing a school visit early next week. If you're in the area, stop by the signing, but do note the ticketing policy below.

Signing Policy for Anderson's:Anderson's DOES have a ticketing policy. In order to get anything signed, they require you to buy a book (by any author) in the store while you're there, or bring in an Anderson's receipt for Firefight. I will sign any number of books that I wrote, but will probably only personalize 3 books per person per time through the line. At 7:30 I’ll start with a reading, followed by a general Q&A and then the signing itself. The reading most likely won’t be from Firefight but will be from some other future project. I probably won’t decide what to read until right before the event, so it will be a surprise!

Check out my calendar to see if there’s another signing that will be more convenient for you.

Isaac here with the promised reminder that he Autumn Republic—the third volume of Brian McClellan's Powder Mage Trilogy—was released this week. Those of you who enjoy Brandon's fantasy novels will likely find a lot to sink your teeth into with Brian's. As we've mentioned before, Brian was a student of Brandon's back in the day and is writing some really good stuff.

Brandon gave the first book in the series, Promise of Blood, quite a nice cover quote. He said, "This book is just plain awesome. I found myself enjoying every moment of it. Innovative magic, quick-paced plot, interesting world. I had a blast." Adam and I reviewed the second book in the series—The Crimson Campaign—in a post a few weeks ago, lauding its readability, interesting characters, and fun twists.http://brandonsanderson.com/woven-map-reveal-more-mcclellan-a-second-staveley-and-legos/

Now here we are with the third in the trilogy. Brian's writing has grown more confident and more powerful. The trilogy concludes with punch (think fist, not Kool-Aid), an ending that finishes things without the contrivance of feeling like it's wrapped up too nicely with a nice little happy birthday card attached. History, countries, characters, and lives all feel like they continue on beyond the pages of the trilogy, and there's some good suspense here, as we've learned from previous volumes that not all of Brian's characters are safe from bullet or sword.

Now let's hear from our resident McClellanite, Adam, with his take on The Autumn Republic:

It's awesome!

Now, I don't need to say any more than that to sum up my feelings on The Autumn Republic or the Powder Mage Trilogy as a whole, but I will. Just as Isaac said, there is some great suspense and the pacing is awesome. I found myself saying, "I will put it down after this chapter," only to read for another two hours. If you like Brandon's books you will enjoy these. Do take notice, they are grittier than Brandon's usually are but they stay pretty clean in other regards. Needless to say, I have been converted and have become a McClellanite and look forward to Brian's books in the future.

In this week's Writing Excuses episode, What Do You Mean My Main Character Is Boring?, we lead off February's Master Class with the exploration of a common problem: the main character is often the least interesting person in the story. It's something that each of the hosts has struggled with, and we talk about the solutions we've arrived at (insomuch as we've managed to solve the problem) and what sorts of things you can do in order to solve them too.http://www.writingexcuses.com/2015/02/01/writing-excuses-10-5-what-do-you-mean-my-main-character-is-boring/

Tor.com is continuing their reread posts on Words of Radiance. Last week, Alice got to play with all the pretty ponies. This week, Carl Engle-Laird discusses Chapter 26, and only gets to play with one of the pretty ponies. Luckily it's Sureblood who is prettiest of them all!http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/01/words-of-radiance-reread-chapter-26

I have some bleak news for everyone in Philadelphia: The signing tomorrow is CANCELED due to snow and the airlines canceling flights. I was going to be signing at Children's Book World in Haverford. Instead, we will be trying to reschedule. But in the meantime, we'll send them a big box of signed bookplates you can stick in the front of your books, as well as ‪#‎Steelhunt‬ cards. Hopefully those will get there next week. I'll post again about it when they arrive. (Boston: Right now the signing on Wednesday is still scheduled to happen as planned, but this could change as the situation develops. Stay tuned to my Upcoming Events calendar.)

I will be signing at Joseph-Beth in Lexington, Kentucky tonight at 7:00 p.m. As far as I can tell it's not a ticketed event, so bring all your books and I'll sign them, though personalizations will be limited to 3 books per time through the line. It's also nice to show your support for the store by buying something while you're there. (Their café has some Reckoners-themed menu items just for the event!)

From the Out of Excuses Workshop and Retreat comes another live Q&A episode where we premiered the Season 10 concept. Our attendees gave us the questions for this month:

– Ideas are hard! Is it ever acceptable for inexperienced writers to write derivative works?– How do you keep from being discouraged when something similar to your idea comes out?– How do you know when your idea is a novel, vs. when it’s a short story?– Should you only write for themed anthologies if you already have an idea ready in that theme?– How can you practice description when your idea is set someplace completely unfamiliar to you?– When should you abandon an idea you love?

In Tor.com's continuing re-read posts for Words of Radiance, Alice Arneson discusses Chapter 25. Last week it was of cons and curry, this week we turn to Kaladin's Comedy Corral for your entertainment.